40-Day Series: Thank you Tony Painton

Every now and then in your career you get lucky enough to get assigned a manager that becomes a friend for life. I had recently moved in to the network organization at Sprint when I was told I would be working for Mr. Painton. I had worked with Tony previously but didn't really know him very well. I had mixed feelings when I initially found out he would be my boss as I thought I would be working directly for the person who had hired me.

Tony made me feel at home right away and his team had more a family vibe vs. your typical corporate team. It didn't take long before I felt like I was just one of the family members. There are soooo many stories and golden nuggets I could share but I know you don't have that kind of time. I'll try to sum up his impact with two quick stories.

After only working on his team for a few months Tony told me he was giving me a raise...now keep in mind the corporate world has a set annual cycle for giving people raises so this act was not a commone one. I was completely shocked and so appreciative as my young family really needed a financial boost. What was so unbelievably cool was Tony took it upon himself to initiate the raise...he thought I was under paid and decided to do something about it. Most managers would simply wait for the normal cycle but Tony thought getting me to equal pay right away was the right thing to do. Golden nugget #1 - take care of your team, even if it means going against normal process to do so.

Humor....humor can make the most stress filled situations bearable and almost enjoyable. One of Tony's favorite tales and one of my most embarrassing is the infamous wrong shoe story. My first business trip EVER was with Tony to San Francisco. I had been assigned to work with the lab in Burlingame so we went out to meet them. It was expected to be a tension filled trip as it was very well known that the lab liked their independence and was not thrilled with the notion that HQ was sending a PM to work with them. The morning of the big meeting with the lab director I was getting ready and realized I brought two different shoes. I must have looked through my bag a million times only to find one flat shoe and one high heel shoe. Keep in mind it was 7:00 a.m. so no stores open to go buy a new pair. Mortified I ride the elevator down to the lobby. I ask Tony to look at me and he says I look fine and I say again, LOOK AT ME! and he gives me a look like I am a crazy chick and says, "what? you look fine." I then point to my feet and he tries not to chuckle. I tell him that if we hurry we can get to the meeting and sit down before anyone notices. We succeed with our plan...or so I thought. Tony takes it upon himself to start the meeting with an icebreaker by sharing the fact that I am wearing two different shoes. Everyone has a good laugh and the tension is immediately lessened. Golden nugget #2...never underestimate the power of laughter.

Like I said, I could go on and on with stories and lessons I learned from Tony. A great indication of an awesome manager? Their people will work for them again and again...I worked for Tony on two different occasions...many of the people that work for him now have worked with him in the past. Some have never stopped working for Tony and probably never will if they have a say in it. Just as important is the fact that his teams have a great reputation for delivering and getting things done...the team members that moved on only did so as they were promoted. I will forever be grateful for his mentorship and friendship.

Golden Nuggets: 1) Take care of your team, even if it means breaking the rules from time to time. 2) Laugh the tension away

Be who you are and learn to be better,
Lisa